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Just as an employer wants dependable and responsible workers, landlords seek the same qualities in their tenants. Your apartment search will in many respects resemble a job application; the landlord will comb your financial and personal background for signs that you can be trusted or should be avoided. You can improve your chances of landing an apartment by avoiding reckless, illegal or careless behavior.

Bad Credit

Good credit tells a landlord you are more likely to pay rent on time. Missed payments, judgments, bankruptcies and high debt can lead to rejection; many landlords will pull a credit report. If a landlord denies you due to credit issues, you should get a credit report to catch errors. You can link the three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, TransUnion, Experian -- through annualcreditreport.com for a free report or get one from your landlord if you paid a screening fee. If you have bad credit, a private landlord rather than a rental company may prove more willing to rent because he needs the money and can be more flexible.

Income

Landlords ask for your income to find out if you can afford the rent. You may have to provide the source in case the landlord needs to verify the amount. However, you can’t be turned down because of where your income comes from, such as disability, welfare, workers’ compensation or alimony.

Criminal History

A record of criminal convictions could raises considerable red flags. Landlords wish to avoid costly repairs for damaged units. Further, renting to some with a conviction record might increase an apartment owner's at risk of fines or lawsuits from tenants, depending on the prospective tenant's past and present circumstances.

Rental History

You hurt your chances of landing a future apartment with a checkered rental history. The rental application will include a place for you to list prior landlords. These references will tell the apartment owner how frequently you paid rent late, the number of landlord and renter complaints for noise or other disturbances and whether you trashed or damaged prior rentals. Evictions don’t necessarily signal that you fell behind on rent or became a problem tenant; if you rent on a month-to-month or other periodic basis, the landlord can remove you at the end without a reason.

Housing Discrimination

Landlords may not refuse tenants for reasons such as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender, religion, nationality, children and the pregnancy of the tenant. California law prohibits landlords from asking an applicant’s immigration status. Apartment owners cannot deny applicants solely because of a disability and must provide reasonable accommodations, such as ramps or reserved parking spaces.

About the Author

Christopher Raines enjoys sharing his knowledge of business, financial matters and the law. He earned his business administration and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a lawyer since August 1996, Raines has handled cases involving business, consumer and other areas of the law.